The Chargers defensive players were not just defeated, but humiliated.

“It’s embarrassing,” Marcus Gilchrist said.

“That was unacceptable,” said Manti Te’o.

“It will never happen again,” was Donald Butler’s vow.

Give them credit for owning up to a shoddy, shameful performance. But, then, there could have been no denying it.

To a man, they seemed wholly sincere, humble even, as they talked about an excellent practice characterized by a commitment to finishing plays.

It better be genuine. It better be motivating.

If the words they said Wednesday aren’t followed by different results Sunday in Kansas City – if not a victory, at least better execution -- there ought to be dire consequences. You can’t fire everyone, but neither can you keep guys who can’t (or won’t) tackle.

By the coaching staff’s count, the Chargers missed an even dozen tackles in this past Sunday’s loss in Miami, the repeated bungles giving 92 bonus yards to the Dolphins. To quantify that gift, Miami got more than a quarter of its total yards following missed tackles.

As anyone who watched a highlight show the past four days knows, there was one play in particular that served as a poster for the Chargers’ effort (or lack thereof).

Charles Clay’s 39-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown was the fourth-longest gain of his three-year career and his longest touchdown play. It should have been neither.

In turning a footnote into a milestone, Clay caught a pass at the 35-yard line and ran right through the heart of the Chargers defense.

It was in some ways worse than Ray Rice’s conversion of fourth-and-29 last year. That was Keystone Kops. If that were two-hand touch, the Chargers wouldn’t even have got Rice. That was bad angles.

This was soft.

This was this year’s second-round pick (Te’o) whiffing at the 28, the second-round pick from 2011 (Gilchrist) being run over at the 20 and the guy we hope is one of the cornerstones for years to come (Butler) being run through at the 15.

By Wednesday, there had been several meetings, a number of scoldings, repeated reminders and a focus renewed.

Eric Weddle likened what happened to someone with a drinking problem who is warned and warned about the bad result that will eventually occur.

“Sometimes you don’t take it to heart until the consequences are severe enough,” Weddle said.

I know this is making your blood boil as you read this. What? They didn’t take tackling seriously?

Let’s at least put this in context. The Chargers are not the only team with a tackling problem. According to STATS, Inc., they are guilty of just the sixth-most missed tackles in the NFL this season.

That doesn’t excuse anything. These are professionals. This is football, the tackle part is an implied inclusion.

But what happened, according to players, is that they became complacent.

See, NFL players make too much money and the game is too hard for teams to risk actually tackling in practice. Rarely does a team even do so in training camp, and even then it rarely involves front-line players.

So their tackle practice is somewhat theoretical. They wrap up but don’t take an opponent down.

It can become rote, and players often don’t fully exercise proper technique. Several Chargers acknowledged Wednesday they sometimes would go through the motions. Often, it was easy to do so without even noticing, thinking they'd be able to execute in a game.

“It’s being more conscious in practice,” Gilchrist said. “It’s realizing when you relax is when they pop one.”

Yeah.

Well, at least they realize it now.

“Geez, that is not good football," Weddle said of the team's reaction when watching the film of Sunday’s game. “It hurts your pride ... You won’t see that happen again.”